A Time to Betray
by daphrose
Summary: "We trusted you!" - "I thought you were our friend!" - "Why would you do this?" - "Traitor!" - She looked back at him with tears in her eyes and shouted, "I know you're my friend! You're still my friend, and I still trust you." She looked at the ground as they dragged her away. "I still trust you, even if your mistakes hurt me."
1. Chapter 1: A Time to Give Up

**By goodness gracious, Best Friends Whenever is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows. It's a unique though quite volatile idea, but Disney's been pulling it off well. And, of course, this whole "future lab" plot has everyone pretty excited—including me. So of course I had to write an idea about it!**

 **Let me make one thing clear: having seen the previews for the next episode, I** ** _know_** **that the plot of my story will** ** _not_** **match up with the canon. But for goodness' sake, this is fanficiton! I had the idea, I wrote it down, it might be different, but hey! I wanted to do it, so I will. Call it AU, AR, whatever you want, but I'm writing it regardless of what happens in the show.**

 **I'd advise you not to judge this story too quickly. In case we haven't met yet, I'm daphrose, master of twists and turns and tricks you never saw coming. Don't assume** ** _anything_** **about this story; I've got a lot up my sleeve for this one. The answer is not as obvious as you may think.**

 **Also, real quick, this is not a romance story. If you wanted to stretch your imagination a bit, you could take a few actions as romantic, but not really. It's all friendship here. (I haven't decided on my BFW ships anyway.)**

 **I listened to "Take It Away" by Ashes Remain while writing. Feel free to pull it up while reading. (Great song.)**

 **Let's get on with it! Rated T for human experimentation, torture, blood, and all that fun stuff. This is your last chance to run. I don't own Best Friends Whenever. Enjoy!**

* * *

 *** * * Chapter 1: A Time to Give Up * * ***

* * *

The day would come eventually.

Even time travelers couldn't put it off forever. The present had a way of catching up, they realized, and it came much too quickly for them to jump away to a time when they felt safe and happy.

They knew all this, and yet the moment came upon them in such a rush they couldn't react properly.

The time came with bright lights and terrifying faces, kneeling over their beds and clapping hands over their mouths. Shelby locked eyes with her best friend, who was also being detained across the room. She screamed into the hand over her mouth, but it was no use. A dozen more hands clapped over her arms and legs until she couldn't move at all. One of the figures moved between her and Cyd, and Shelby only screamed louder.

A man walked up, one taller than the rest and dressed in a fancy suit. Shelby's eyes widened and she tried to squirm away, but to no avail.

"Shh," the man whispered, leaning over her. "Calm down, little girl."

Shelby glared at him, seeing it was the only thing she actually _could_ do.

"G's got you now."

 _G?_ Shelby thought. _G!_

The man removed some kind of syringe from a briefcase and stuck it in Shelby's arm before she could react. She screamed louder than ever and thrashed around, desperately trying to find a way up so she could get to Cyd and get out of this time. The world around her grew fuzzy and she felt her eyelids get heavy. The people yelling above her seemed to get further and further away.

Before she slipped away, Shelby yelled her best friend's name one more time, even though she knew it wouldn't do anything. Surprisingly, she heard the shout echo through the room—she could only hope that it reached Cyd's ears. Not that it would do much good.

Shelby couldn't think of a single cheesy remark that would make this situation any better. With a shuddering breath, she gave up the rest of her strength and let everything go black.

* * *

Cyd woke up to a dozen beeping sounds and shouts not far above her head. She groaned and opened her eyes to see a bright light shining right in her face. She tried to move, but found that her arms were strapped to the table she lay on. She opened her mouth to scream, but someone clapped their hand on her face.

"She's awake!"

"Where's the anesthetic?"

"Keep her down!"

"Keep her calm!"

Cyd struggled against the restraints as people rushed around her. She tried to say something, but whoever held their hand over her mouth kept her from doing so. A devious thought popped into her mind.

"Ew!"

"What?"

"She licked my hand!"

"Who are you people?" Cyd shouted, seeing as how her mouth was now free. Lucky for her, the one with his hand over her mouth had been the only one without gloves. "What are you doing?"

The people shouted—Cyd could see their blue scrubs and surgical masks over their mouths—and scurried around her.

"Let me go!"

Another man walked closer. He looked fancier than anyone else in the room, and he wore no mask. "Shh," he said, looking directly into her eyes.

Cyd's head buzzed and she could hear the beeping around her get faster. She felt like screaming again, but for some reason, the man's gaze stopped her.

"Shh," he said again. "You're a strong girl, Cyd Ripley. Impressively so. The fight you put up has left my men quite impressed."

"I'd pound your brain out of your skull if you'd let me up!"

The man chuckled. "No, I'm afraid I can't take that chance."

"Coward!"

"Genius. I think you'll find there's a distinct difference." The man leaned even closer so his face was only inches away from hers. "You put up a strong front; I like that. But you're soft on the inside; delicate, one might say. You don't want anyone to know, but _I_ do."

Cyd snarled, but she could feel the icy ball in her stomach grow larger than ever.

"You're afraid. So very afraid. You have every right to be. We take you away from your best friend and drag you to a dark, unfamiliar room with dark, unfamiliar faces. Why, the only thing we haven't taken from you is your family, but it seems as if you wouldn't care about them anyway."

"I . . . care." Her voice faltered.

"Of course you do. But you care about Shelby more."

"What have you done with her?" Cyd yelled and pulled at the wrist restraints. The strange people flocked to hold her arms down, and one pressed her shoulder back until she lay flat again.

"Same thing we're doing with you."

"If you hurt her—"

"Oh, we will. And there's not a thing you can do about it. James! Put her out again. You may get back to your work."

"Right away, sir."

"No, where are you going? Who are you? Why are you doing this to me? Please! Get back here! Or at least get me some pizza; I'm starving!"

The man chuckled as he walked away. "One thing you must understand and you must understand quickly, Cyd Ripley: here, you are regarded as an experiment, not a human being. Things like food, water, and sleep will be given to you sparingly. You will receive only enough to keep you alive. You will hang on by a thread, but only _barely_. James! I said put her out!"

"No, wait! Ow! Hey, stop that!"

Someone jammed something sharp into Cyd's arm. Immediately her whole wrist felt as if it was burning, and the white-hot sensation spread through her body. Cyd screamed in agony, feeling the sweet relief as she slipped into darkness.

* * *

"Cool place," Naldo said, looking down the white halls with fancy electronic doors every so often. "Why am I here again?"

"Because," the man walking just in front of him said, "we understand that you're a close friend of Shelby Marcus and Cyd Ripley."

"Sure I am. The three of us and Barry hang out a whole lot. Do you know them?"

"I met them recently. They seem like fascinating girls."

"Great. So . . . why are we talking about them?"

The man stopped, and so did the two other people holding Naldo's arms, thus causing him to stop as well. The man turned around, smiled—though Naldo would hardly describe it as a nice smile—and walked closer.

"Because you are going to tell me everything you know about them."

"Well." Naldo felt his knees go weak. He swallowed. "Well, they live together. Cyd's parents went to Peru for an archeological—"

"That's not what I meant." The man didn't say it in an angry voice; he didn't shout. He sounded merely displeased, as if a fly had landed on his nose. Maybe it was because his voice was so calm that Naldo decided it might be a good idea to shut up.

The two people holding Naldo's arms released their grips and stepped back. The man walked closer and Naldo leaned away from him.

"You're going to tell me everything you know about their time traveling ability."

Naldo felt his blood run cold. He flashed a faint smile and reached up under his hat to put something out and offer it to the man. "Pickle?"

* * *

Barry sat totally straight in the chair, hands on his knees and eyes on the floor. He sat like that, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in his stomach, the way his palms felt sweaty, and the fact that his pulse raced. Was this what people called _nervousness?_ He didn't like it one bit.

"You've done a fantastic thing in the name of science today, Mr. Eisenberg," the man sitting across from him said. "So, I have to wonder why it is that you look so upset."

Barry raised his eyebrows slightly. _I look upset? I don't even know what that looks like on other people._ "Just a little anxious is all," he said aloud. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Barry looked up and set his jaw. "Yes . . . sorry, sir, it's just that . . . I don't do small talk."

The man smiled and shook his head. "Oh, this is far from small talk. Leave us." He waved at the guards by the door. They bowed and exited, leaving Barry and the man alone in the room. He stood up and began to pace.

After a pause: "You know, Mr. Eisenberg, you have turned out to be an extremely astounding young man. I think your talents could be put to good use here."

Barry felt a smile come on his face. "I would be honored, sir." Then he remembered the events of the day, and suddenly he regretted his excitement.

"Would you now? You know, Mr. Eisenberg, I know that you are not too good at reading people. Well, you may not be, but I _am_. And what I'm reading from you is a lot of hesitation. I cannot have you do anything here with that doubt holding you back. So it seems you need to make a choice. You can choose to follow a path of scientific achievement, or you can succumb to your emotions and let your feelings for your friends get in the way. Well, Mr. Eisenberg?"

The man leaned over Barry now, only a few inches away from his face. Barry swallowed and muttered the only thing he could think to say. "Shuds."

* * *

Three screams, one by one, echoed through the facility. Each was silenced milliseconds after they started, suppressed and cut off at their peak. However, though there were only three audible screams, four people constantly screamed in their minds—and they would be screaming for a long time after.

* * *

 **Well? How was it? Some parts I'm not proud of; others, I am. But of course, what matters most is what the readers think. So . . . what did you think? How'd I pull off the characters? They're all new to me, so I'm hoping I did okay with them. Let me know in reviews!**

 **Was "the man" the same person for all four of them? Or was it four different men? What do you guys think? Will he/they be important? And what about Barry? What do you think he's going to choose? And why on earth does he have to choose anything in the first place?**

 **Random Question of the Chapter: I've developed this headcanon that Barry is autistic. I mean, he seems to fit the bill pretty well. I think it would be so cool if he actually was. The only disability I can think of from a Disney show was Cece's dyslexia (Shake It Up!), so I think it would be really awesome of them if Barry had something like autism. So . . . thoughts?**

 **This story will most likely only be about three or four chapters, and I plan to have it complete before Jump to the Future Lab on September 20th. (Hopefully.) So keep an eye out for updates! Reviews are welcome, as always, but not required. I'll see you all soon. Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2: A Time to Startle

**I like this chapter a lot. :3 Get ready to be shocked! And remember what I said before about not assuming anything. Things are not always as they seem, especially in my stories. ;)**

 **Chapter 2 soundtrack: "Already Over" by Red. A good song, especially for what looks to be betrayal. *gasp!* I've said too much. ;)**

 **Can't think of anything else to say. My apologizes for any grammar/spelling mistakes. Sometimes they slip through. I don't own Best Friends Whenever, although I wish I did, because then Barry would be mine. :3 Enjoy!**

* * *

 *** * * Chapter 2: A Time to Startle * * ***

* * *

"Understand something, however."

* * *

 _"Cyd! Cyd, please! It hurts so much! Cyd! Cyd, don't leave me!"_

* * *

"If you give us any kind of trouble, we will not hesitate to rip you to shreds. You think we _need_ you? You are sorely mistaken. We have others who could easily take your place. You're not the only one we could hurt . . . the only one we could break."

* * *

 _"Shelby! Where are you? Don't give in! Shelby!"_

* * *

"You will suffer the consequences if you decline my offer. You've seen too much already."

* * *

 _"I don't like it here; I don't like it. Barry! Mr. Man! Anyone?"_

* * *

"I have fantastic plans for you. I can guarantee you that you will not like them; no, you will be hurt, possibly even destroyed by them. But, anything for the advancement of science, I suppose. You will choose your own fate today; don't forget that. If you say no, I look forward to hearing your screams."

* * *

 _"I didn't think this is what you did . . . I . . . I don't like it. You're . . . you're what society would call monsters, I suppose. Now I guess I must ask if I'm a monster myself. The conclusion I come to will be the answer I give you. So, I think that . . . that . . ."_

* * *

Bit by bit, Cyd became aware of her surroundings. She opened her eyes to a familiar sight that snapped her fully awake. High above her was a white domed ceiling with five support beams running down the surface from the convex peak straight above her head. With her sapped strength she wiggled her arms and felt the belts tying her to the table.

"Shelby?" she muttered, unable to talk louder. She could feel something sticky pressed to her forehead—several somethings, in fact. Reaching her hand up, she felt the wires running from her forehead to some unseen machinery in the corner. Why had she never noticed those the others times she had been there?

Cyd turned her head to the right to see her best friend in the same position, except Shelby's eyes were closed tight.

"Shelby?" Cyd whispered again. "Come on, Shelby. I need you to wake up."

As if on command, Shelby groaned and furrowed her forehead. She opened her eyes, blinked, and gasped. "When'd we jump back to the future lab?" she asked, her voice raspy.

"We didn't jump. We're actually here this time."

"We have to get out and stop this from happening."

"Reach for my hand."

"I can't." Shelby closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "My arms . . . they hurt too much. I can't even move them."

Cyd bit her lip. "Yeah, mine too."

For a second everything was quiet.

"Do you remember what they did, Shelby?"

Shelby stayed quiet for a few moments. "A little."

"I have a feeling they'll do it again."

"I have a feeling they'll do worse."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Say something! Make a cheesy joke about out situation! You're always the one who makes things better. So, go ahead."

"I . . . I can't."

"Come on! You're the optimist; you know, the happy one who can always turn a situation around. You see the bright side of everything. What's the bright side of this?"

"I don't know!"

Cyd could tell that her best friend was close to tears. "Shelby . . ."

"We'll get out of this. There, does that help?"

Cyd turned her head away. "You don't believe that."

"No, I don't."

Once again everything fell silent. Cyd worked on trying to move her arms around. She had to grab Shelby's hand and get out of there; they had broken her best friend, and she was _not_ okay with that. It looked like it was up to her to fix everything this time. She didn't know how to do that, but she would sure as heck try her hardest.

"I want my brothers," Shelby sighed after a moment. "I didn't think I would ever say that, but here we are."

"I want a taco. Did they give you anything to eat?"

Shelby chuckled. "And you said _I'm_ the one who makes jokes."

"That wasn't a joke. I'm starving."

"Hmm, come to think of it, so am I."

"This is even worse than the time you wouldn't let me eat breakfast—the same day we got time-traveling, remember?"

"Of course I remember, but that was partly the vending machine's fault."

"They're worse than a vending machine."

"Yeah. Who do they think they are, not giving us food?"

"What I wouldn't give for a hamburger right now, one from Hal's Diner, with all the fixin's."

"We have a right to food! How could they decline that to us?"

"I agree! Food rights! Even time-travelers deserve equal treatment."

"Exactly! When they come in here, I'll give them a piece of my mind. No one starves my best friend or me!"

The girls looked at each other with smiles on their faces. After a few seconds, however, their smiles fell.

"Will we be okay, Cyd?"

"I don't know, Shelby."

They heard footsteps somewhere behind them. They looked at each other with wide eyes. It was now or never. The girls mustered all the strength they had left to reach out and grab each others' hands as the footsteps got closer. Their fingers were a few inches apart when a voice yelled at them—a voice that sounded oddly familiar to Cyd.

"Don't even try it!"

Suddenly two hands appeared beside them as if out of nowhere and pulled their arms back onto the table. Someone stood between them, strapped down the girls' arms, and took a step back. Shelby and Cyd frowned and looked up to see the man in the suit standing above them. He glanced down at each one of them in turn before walking over to some computers by the wall. Cyd felt her heart crawl up into her throat from the fear.

"What do you want from us?" she shouted, struggling against the restraints pinning her down.

"I would think that would be obvious by now." His shoulders moved up in a sort of shrug.

"Have you ever thought about adding a splash of color to this room?" Shelby asked. "It might make your prisoners feel a little more welcome—"

The man in the suit turned around abruptly, and even if the girls couldn't see his face, they knew he was mad.

"Never mind." Shelby buried her chin in her chest

"Who are you?" Cyd asked.

The white-suited man remained quiet for a moment. "I guess it couldn't hurt to show you." He reached up to take his mask off, and Cyd's and Shelby's mouths fell open.

"That's a Scooby Doo moment," Shelby whispered.

The man in the suit was not a man at all, but rather a boy—and a boy they knew well.

"Barry?" Cyd squeaked. She felt a ball of ice form in her stomach, and it only grew as she looked at his smirking face.

"You really should've put the pieces together a long time ago," Barry said. He put the mask down beside the computers and walked over to the girls. "I mean, who else would have the motive to experiment on you? Who else would know enough to do so properly?"

"We trusted you!" Cyd shouted. "I thought you were our friend!"

"Yes, and you fell for that one—to borrow the colloquialism—hook, line, and sinker."

"Why would you do this?" Shelby, who still seemed to be in shock, whispered.

"Traitor!" Cyd shouted. She couldn't help herself; the angry bubbled up in her at the thought that her friend had turned her in to experiment on her like she was some sort of lab rat.

Barry shrugged. "Look, this is science. It's cost versus benefit, and the cost of your comfort is worth the benefit of my fame." A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"This is more than just uncomfortable," Shelby said. "It's outright painful! Barry, this isn't like you!"

"Oh, it isn't? Because I've done worse things than this before. Remember everything I've done to Naldo?"

Cyd tilted her head. "He's not wrong."

"Look," Barry said. "Let's make things easy, shall we? Tell me everything about your time-traveling and you won't have to suffer nearly as much—probably."

Shelby scowled at him, which greatly impressed Cyd. "We already told you everything we know."

Barry's face twitched. "Well . . . then let's review."

"No." Cyd looked back up at the ceiling and frowned. "I don't think we should tell anything to you."

"Fine. Then we'll have to work it out of you the hard way."

"We?" Shelby asked.

"Yes, _we_. In case you haven't noticed, I found someone to fund my research on you two. That's why we're here and you're strapped to tables. Oh, that's also why I have _this_."

Barry walked between the two of them and grabbed Cyd's wrist. "Hey!" He clapped some sort of metal bracelet on her arm before turning to put a similar one on Shelby. "What are these?"

"They're specially designed to block your time-traveling abilities. You won't be escaping anytime soon. We don't want to risk you jumping back to stop this timeline from ever happening."

Cyd frowned. "Man, why'd you have to be so smart?"

Barry only grinned and leaned down near Cyd's face. "I'll be back after lunch. I'm thinking about a nice big plate of spaghetti and meatballs."

Cyd's mouth began to water. "What about our lunch, huh?"

Barry chuckled. "As you've already been told, things like food, water, and sleep will be given to you sparingly. You will receive only enough to keep you alive. Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get a bowl of cold porridge for dinner." He began to walk out of the room.

"Maybe if you're lucky, I'll throw it in your face!" Cyd shouted after him. Then after he was gone, her face fell. "How could he?" she whispered. "Shelby, I thought he was our friend! Why would he do this to us?"

Shelby only nodded numbly. "Did something about him seem off to you?"

"Um, yeah, maybe the fact that he's _evil?_ "

"No, it's just—never mind. What are we going to do now?"

Cyd bit her lip. "I think . . . I have an idea."

Shelby's face lit up. "Do I get to help? Is it elaborate?"

"No, it's an escape plan. The idea is to be subtle." Cyd blinked and shook her head. No time to question what she already knew was a part of her best friend's personality. "Here's where all those gymnastics lessons Mom forced me to go to pay off."

Cyd wiggled around under the straps, moving her right arm behind her back and then up over head. She carefully did the same thing with her left arm, moving it back and forth beneath the straps until it was free. She reached up and grabbed the edge of the table. Next she worked on getting her legs out.

"You can do it!"

"Quiet, I'm trying to focus!"

"Right. Sorry."

Cyd gritted her teeth and pulled with her arms to try and ease her body out of the straps. Inch by inch she managed to pull herself out and over the edge of the table. Finally she reached down to touch the floor, half of her body free but everything below her torso still stuck under the restraints. Blood rushed to her head and made her ears ring, but Cyd chose to ignore it.

Finally, as she moved her hands forward and pulled herself closer to the door, she worked her legs free. At last her feet were on the edge of the table. She kicked them up and over the rest of her body, standing with the momentum. She grinned, pulled the sticky wires off her head, and started doing a victory dance.

"Um, Cyd? A little help?"

"Oh, right." Cyd ran over to free Shelby from her straps. The two girls stood and looked around the mysterious lab, and then they looked at each other.

"No harm in trying, right?" Shelby asked, wrapping her best friend in a hug.

"Back in our room," Cyd whispered. "Back in our room the day before they took us."

Nothing happened.

The girls let go and took a step back, each glaring at the bracelets on their wrists. They tried to pull them off, but to no avail. They had locked and were much too small to slide over their hands.

"Guess Barry really did figure it out," Shelby said.

"That two-faced scum."

"Whoa!"

"Well, he is. He totally stabbed us in the back!"

"He told us a while ago that he would lock us up and experiment on us if he had more room in the Winnebago."

"Yeah, but I didn't think he would actually do it."

"I still say there was something off about him."

"What, like he was brainwashed or something?"

"I don't know; I can't really explain it."

"Look, all I know is that he betrayed us. He's an enemy now, Shelby. Barry is the man in the suit!"

Shelby nodded, but her expression was blank. Cyd supposed she was still in shock, and who could blame her? After all, it wasn't every day your friend captured you so he could turn you into some sort of guinea pig.

"We have to get out of here," Cyd said. "Be careful!"

The girls snuck out the door and into a hall with walls as white as the ones in the lab. They walked quietly down it, looking for some way out. The walls were bare except for the occasional electronic door. Cyd and Shelby didn't go into any of them, seeing as how they didn't want to risk being caught.

After a few minutes, however, the girls heard several footsteps coming towards them from where they hallway curved ahead. They looked at each other with wide eyes and ran around a corner to the left. Finally they reached a dead end, panting and catching their breath.

Cyd straightened first and looked around, making sure no one was near them. They were in the clear. She noticed that there was nowhere else to go besides a large door at the end of the hall, which happened to be the only one in this corridor.

"Do we go in?" Shelby asked.

"It might be an exit. And we can't go back, can we?"

Cyd walked up to the door and tried to find a way to open it. As she did, Shelby spotted a keypad on the wall and told her friend. "We need a code. Great, now we'll never get in!"

"I bet it's 1234."

"Are you kidding? Who uses that as a password?"

"That's the password to your phone."

" _What?_ "Shelby folded her arms across her chest and let out a nervous laugh. Then she dropped the façade and mumbled, "Okay, yeah, it is."

Cyd punched in the code on the keypad. She held her breath as she hit enter. The pad beeped and the door slid away. She flashed a triumphant grin at her best friend before the two of them walked into the room.

It was dark, but not dark enough, as it turned out. The girls gasped because, in that small room, they found the umpteenth surprise of the day.

For there hanging in front of them, with his arms held high above his head and his feet chained to the floor, was the seemingly lifeless body of Barry Eisenberg.

* * *

 **Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?**

 **But . . . but wasn't Barry just experimenting on them in a suit? How did he wind up in some kind of cell? And he's not dead, right?** ** _Right?_**

 **Guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out, which shouldn't be too long.**

 **I slipped in one Lab Rats reference in there. Can you spot it? I also have** ** _two_** **Adventures in Odyssey references in this chapter as well. If you can find them, you'll be my best friend forever. :3 Or whenever. ;3**

 **Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter! I'm not sure how good of a job I did with Cyd and Shelby this time . . . remember that they've been experimented on and tortured, so they're not exactly feeling spectacular right now. Hopefully I did all right. And yes, I left you on a cliffhanger, so I look forward to the shocked and somewhat angry reviews you leave in response to that. :) See you all soon! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Time to Fall Apart

**Yes, blah-blah, long time, I know. It was really hard to write this story after we learned the truth behind the lab and all that. I guess this is AU now. Just so you know. It's not GDD and Janet Smythe and all that. It just didn't work with my ideas. I don't own Best Friends Whenever. Enjoy!**

* * *

 *** * * Chapter 3: A Time to Fall Apart * * ***

* * *

"Ah!" Cyd shrieked, jumping behind Shelby.

"Shh!" Shelby hissed. She walked into the cell and put two fingers on Barry's neck.

"What are you doing? Don't you remember what he just did to us?"

"He's alive."

"Yeah, okay, but he wants _us_ dead!"

"Cyd! Something fishy is going on here. How can he experiment on us and be locked up in a cell at the same time?"

"I-I don't know . . . it must be some kind of twisted trick of his!"

"Exactly, but this one isn't the trick. Look around; is there a way to free him? There's no keyhole on these chains."

"There's another computer pad on the wall. Maybe they're electronic."

"Go see if you can figure out how to get him free."

Cyd nodded and ran over to the wall, but she still had an apprehensive look on her face. Shelby studied Barry and her motherly instincts began to kick in. He looked beaten up and was most definitely unconscious. He looked like he had been through a lot.

"I don't know what to do!" Cyd cried. "There's so many different buttons and . . . oh, wait, here's one that says 'Release chains.' Do you think that's it?"

Shelby rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Cyd, maybe it's the one that says 'Order pizza.'"

"There's a button that says that?"

"Release the chains, Cyd!"

She obeyed and hit the button, and Barry fell to the floor with a groan. Shelby ran up and knelt down beside him as he blinked and rubbed his head.

"Where am I?" he muttered.

"Stay down, punk," Cyd said, her arms near her sides in a fighting position. "You've got a lot of explaining to do."

"Cyd!" Shelby glared at her friend and helped Barry sit up. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. What happened? Where are we?"

"The future lab."

"Yeah, and you're the man in the suit!" Cyd said, not letting up on her wariness.

"I don't know what you're . . ." Barry trailed off and groaned, rubbing his head again. "Oh, I know where we are. Shuds, girls, I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?" Cyd let her arms drop a little, but not much.

A bang came from outside the cell and they all jumped, then remained still. After a few seconds had passed, Shelby said, "We should probably find a way out of here. Barry, can you stand?"

"I think so."

"What do we do?" Cyd asked.

"We need to find some way to get these bracelets off. Then we can jump to another time and figure out how to fix this whole mess."

"Got it. Any idea how to do that?"

"I think I know a place you can go that'll help," Barry said as Shelby helped him to his feet. "We have to be careful, though. This place is crawling with people who would love hurt all three of us."

"Including you?" Cyd asked, eyebrow raised.

Barry sighed. "I don't know what happened to you two, but I promise that I never wanted to hurt you . . . and I'm certainly not some man in a suit."

"But you were," Shelby said, looking at the floor. "The man in the suit that we've seen in the future, he was there, and when he took of the mask, he was you."

"I . . ." Barry trailed off and shook his head. "I have no explanation for that. I'm sorry."

They knew it was useless to keep pushing him. Shelby and Cyd would have to trust that Barry was telling the truth, and that the ordeal with the masked man had only been a mistake.

Barry led the other two down the hall with Shelby half-supporting him. They dodged behind corners at the slightest sound and managed to stay out of sight until Barry led them into another room full of scientific devices and computer screens lining one wall.

"There's got to be a hammer or something in here that we can use to destroy the bracelets," Cyd said, scouring the counters for a heavy object she could employ.

"What is this place?" Shelby asked, looking around at all the different high-tech items she'd never seen before.

"A miniature lab," Barry said. "They took me in here before they. . . . You know what, I bet I could find some kind of solution to melt the metal. It could make you two explode, of course, but we'll try to avoid that."

"That would be fantastic," Cyd said, rolling her eyes. "Does anyone else think it's weird that no one is in here? What kind of trap did you lead us into, Barry?"

"None," he said, looking a little hurt that his friend didn't trust him. "But we should hurry up. They'll be here soon."

Shelby let Barry search for his solution and Cyd search for her hammer. She looked around the lab and peeked into the hall every so often to make sure no one was coming. Eventually she made her way over to the computers on the opposite wall, and when she looked at them she realized they were security monitors. One of them showed a jail cell that must've been Barry's, as well as a few shots of the hall, and the final screen showed a much smaller jail cell with someone inside. Shelby squinted and tried to see who it was, and when he turned his head so she could see his face, she gasped. "Naldo?"

Barry turned sharply and ran up beside her. "Renaldo," he whispered, staring at the screen. His face twitched and he looked at the ground. "Those monsters. If they hurt him . . ." He ran a hand through his hair. "They even gave me the chance to join them. I turned them down because they hurt you two, and that's when they decided to hurt me. I can't believe someone would do this. This isn't science, it's madness!" He touched the screen showing Naldo's cell. "Don't worry, buddy; I'll get you out of there."

"Found it!" Cyd said, brandishing her prize of some sort of large, metallic object. She ran up with a grin on her face. "Come on, Shelbs, let's get this over with."

"I agree."

The three of them turned around to see several guards and the man in the suit, still masked. However, he soon reached up and removed the covering, revealing a face identical to one of their own.

"What in the galaxy," Barry muttered as he observed his own face with a sickening grin on it.

"Two Barrys?" Cyd shouted. "Shelby, help me out here."

"I'm just as confused as you are!" Shelby said. "Barry?"

"How is that possible?" Barry asked, staring down his doppelgänger.

The second Barry laughed and pushed something on the side of his face. Shelby watched as he morphed from her friend into the man who had dragged her and Cyd out of their room in the middle of the night—the man who brought them here.

"Surprise," he said with a conniving grin.

"G," Barry whispered.

"You girls are not going anywhere," G said. "Or any _time_. And you!" He gestured to Barry. "You are going right back to you cell to rot, you worthless disgrace to science."

Barry's face fell for a moment, but not for long. "To think I ever trusted you," he said.

"That was your mistake."

"C'mon, Cyd," Shelby hissed. "We need to get out of here."

"Stop them!" G roared.

The guards rushed forward, but Barry ducked behind the counter and began to pelt them with an assortment of items he grabbed from the drawers. Cyd used her new weapon to smack a few in the jaw before swinging it at her wrist with all her might. The bracelet groaned under the weight before snapping. Cyd yelped and shook her wrist, sending a weak grin to Shelby. "Your turn!"

Shelby swallowed and closed her eyes, wincing as the heavy object struck her wrist and dislodged the metal. She nursed her hand as Barry ran up to them, more devices in his arms that he chucked at their attackers.

"We've got to go," Cyd said.

The two girls grabbed onto each other, and without thinking, they also managed to grab onto Barry.

 _Back to before back to before back to before . . ._

They opened their eyes to find themselves in Barry's lab, and their friend himself in front of them, his face pale.

"We did it!" Shelby and Cyd embraced each other, simultaneously crying and laughing out of fear.

"I did it," Barry said, looking at his hands. "I-I time travelled!"

"Wait," Shelby said as she broke apart from her friend. "You came with us?"

"You grabbed onto me, and I suppose that you managed to pull me with you when you jumped out of the timeline. Oh, shuds, I hope that doesn't mean there's two of me now."

Cyd opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment the door to the lab swung open and some men entered, at the forefront of whom was G.

"Barry Eisenberg," G said in his cool voice, "we are here to . . . oh, are these the girls you told us about? Fantastic. Seize them."

Before Shelby and Cyd could move toward each other, they were pulled apart again.

"No!" Barry shouted. "Stop! I . . . I was only joking. I'm just a kid who's trying to get famous, I guess. They're not time-travelers. Please, you don't need to take them away."

"Nonsense. I know what you told me, and not even someone like you could make that up. Thank you for alerting us to such an amazing scientific breakthrough. You will be duly awarded."

"Barry?" Shelby whispered.

"So you did betray us," Cyd said.

"I'm so sorry, girls. I didn't know they would—"

"He betrayed you for a good cause," G said. "Take these girls away!"

Cyd and Shelby struggled against the grips that held them back, trying so hard to undo what their friend had done, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't quite make it back to each other to fix this mess once and for all.

* * *

 *** * * The End * * ***

* * *

 **Happy endings are overrated, anyway. Not the best chapter, I know, but to be honest, I just wanted to get it over with.**

 **Yeah, so, Barry told G and his goons about Cyd and Shelby, so they took them all captive. When Barry realized what they planned to do with his friends, he tried to fix it, but he was taken captive himself and basically tortured in the name of "science." G used some sort of cloaking device/cybermask (any Lab Rats fans out there?) to pretend to be Barry to get the girls to give him more information. Does that make sense? I hope so.**

 **Reviews are loved, and I'm sorry the story came to such an abrupt end after such a long wait. It's all right if you're mad at me. I understand. Still, let me know what you think (be honest), and hopefully I'll write more BFW stuff soon. I've got an idea for a dystopian future story for the show, so hopefully I'll get that all written up and posted in a few months. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this, and goodbye!**


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